Your Holiday-Break Reading List: 9 Books to Squeeze in Before 2015

Attention, my fellow bookworms: We've already discussed the most buzzworthy books of 2014, but several equally great options emerged over the last few months of the year. If you're planning on logging some quality reading time over the holidays (really, is there anything better than curling up with a good book by a fire with a cup of hot cocoa? I think not) or prepping your queue for 2015, none of these books are to be missed. Pick one or pick them all; you won't be disappointed. Read on! Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult Picoult knows how to simultaneously tug at our heartstrings and immerse us in worlds far different from our own. Her 23rd book is no exception, gripping us with this tale of mother-daughter relationships, elephant behavior, and the supernatural—plus an ending that will leave you shocked (trust me). Lila by Marilynne Robinson We've come to expect greatness from this Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and greatness she does deliver with her follow-up to Gilead and Home. The novel tells the powerful story of Lila, from her neglect-ridden childhood to her years of homelessness to her marriage to the town pastor. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Ng's

Attention, my fellow bookworms: We've already discussed the most buzzworthy books of 2014, but several equally great options emerged over the last few months of the year. If you're planning on logging some quality reading time over the holidays (really, is there anything better than curling up with a good book by a fire with a cup of hot cocoa? I think not) or prepping your queue for 2015, none of these books are to be missed. Pick one or pick them all; you won't be disappointed. Read on!

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult Picoult knows how to simultaneously tug at our heartstrings and immerse us in worlds far different from our own. Her 23rd book is no exception, gripping us with this tale of mother-daughter relationships, elephant behavior, and the supernatural—plus an ending that will leave you shocked (trust me).

Lila by Marilynne Robinson We've come to expect greatness from this Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and greatness she does deliver with her follow-up to Gilead and Home. The novel tells the powerful story of Lila, from her neglect-ridden childhood to her years of homelessness to her marriage to the town pastor.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Ng's debut (and Amazon's book of the year) takes us to 1970s Ohio into the inner workings of a biracial family as they grapple with the death of their teenage daughter Lydia. It's heavy stuff, but Ng's murder-mystery-cum-family-drama will have you hungrily flipping through the pages.

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood For the reader who is pressed for time, Atwood's latest collection of nine short stories packs a strong punch in a little package. In each of the stories, Atwood tackles volatile relationship issues—from love triangles to infidelity to seeking revenge on a rapist—with her signature dark humor.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters If you're looking to catch up on sleep this break, this book might not be for you—since it's nearly impossible to put down. Waters' post-World War I tale nails the page-turning trifecta: a forbidden love affair, a shocking murder, and a suspenseful trial—plus an ending that nobody sees coming.

How to Be Both by Ali Smith This book will be like nothing else you read this year: Smith's two tales of a 1460s Renaissance artist (Eyes) and a 1960s teenage girl (Camera) can be read in any order (Eyes/Camera or Camera/Eyes) and still achieve Smith's desired narrative.

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar You'll get lost in the worlds of Vanessa Bell and her sister, Virginia Woolf, as they struggle to make it as a painter and an author, respectively, in prewar London—but more so than art, this is a story of sisterhood.

Some Luck by Jane Smiley Need an escape from your own family? Three decades of Langdon family happenings should do the trick. Each chapter covers a single year, starting on their Iowa farm in the 1920s and working through the 1950s.

The Unspeakable by Meghan Daum Even if you don't normally read nonfiction, you should make an exception for Daum's recent collection of 10 essays, which cover everything from the death of her mother to her own near-death experience to playing charades with Larry David.